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lead, and other metals in these fish. I strongly doubt that further 
evidence will disprove these facts. We can look at this from the other 
end of the spectrum in a more progressive sense and we can assume 
that if we know that these poisons exist only after preliminary studies, 
we can then conclude that there may be some more serious threats 
to our public health than have been realized. I feel the solution, 
then, is to stop this dumping of dredge and sewage spoil as a begin- 
ning ia curtailing this pollution problem in New York Harbor. 
In conclusion, I would like to say that I find it not only disappoint- 
ing but disheartening that it has come to the point where congres- 
sional action seems to be the only avenue left for controlling this 
situation. After numerous attempts by my colleague, Mr. Ottinger, to 
effect change at a level which this problem by rights should have been 
dealt with, I find it quite alarming that neither the situation has 
changed nor have there been any concrete attempts to change it. The 
point is and has always been that some action, preventive as well as 
remedial, must be taken and I strongly urge that no added delay be 
imposed upon the passage of H.R. 15828. Again, I thank you for the 
opportunity to appear before this subcommittee and to express my 
sincere desire that this problem be corrected as soon as possible. 
Mr. Dineetu. Thank you Congressman, for an excellent statement. 
Another very able member from New York, Hon. Ogden Reid, 
will be our next witness. 
STATEMENT OF HON. OGDEN R. REID, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
Mr. Rew. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I very 
much appreciate having this opportunity to voice my strong support 
of H.R. 15828, which would amend the National Environmental Policy 
Act to require the Secretary of the Army to terminate certain licenses 
and permits relating to the disposition of waste materials in the wa- 
ters of the New York Bight. I commend my colleague from New York 
Mr. Ottinger’s work on this bill as the principal sponsor, and I am 
pleased to be a cosponsor of it. It is, in my view, essential legislation 
if we are at all serious about attacking the critical danger that threat- 
ens our environment. 
We have made New York Harbor not only into a junkyard but also 
into a graveyard. Just south of Ambrose Light in New York Harbor, 
in what was once an area rich in sea life, there is what is now known 
as a “dead sea”—a body of water filled with millions of tons of sewage 
sludge and dredging spoils, killing marine life and endangering the 
health of those humans who eat seafood caught in that area. 
For 40 years we have been dumping in his area; in recent years the 
situation has grown critical, as evidence has grown to indicate that 
killing marine life is a graver issue than it once seemed. When reports 
are submitted which show that there is indeed a danger to human 
health from this situation—specifically, that hepatitis may be a direct 
result of human consumption of certain polluted species of fish—it is 
time that, out of simple logic and out of a basic concern for health, we 
renew our efforts toward fighting water pollution in general, and to- 
a 
